


I Could

by miraculouslarrypotter



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, I Love You, I love them both help, I make myself sad with angst, LadyNoir - Freeform, Ladybug - Freeform, Love, Marinette - Freeform, Miraculous Ladybug - Freeform, chat noir - Freeform, ladynoir angst, marinette dupain cheng - Freeform, miraculous - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-17
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2020-01-15 11:25:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18497989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miraculouslarrypotter/pseuds/miraculouslarrypotter
Summary: Written by K





	I Could

**Author's Note:**

> Written by K

Ladybug wasn’t sure when she first suspected that Chat Noir wasn’t in love with her anymore.

Oh, he still told her every single cat pun he could think of; he still called her milady every chance he could get and still looked at her with adoration in his eyes. But now he was looking at her less like she was the sun and more like she was an ordinary star, among all other stars. In the beginning she’d wondered what had changed, but she never asked him. And one night, she found out she’d never have to.

Marinette had walked out on her balcony, getting ready to transform into Ladybug and meet Chat at the Eiffel Tower for their bi-weekly patrol. She’d started to say “Tikki, spots-” and that’s when she saw him.

She saw him on the balcony adjacent to hers, the one he’d set up for her one night as Ladybug.

But she saw him watching someone else.

Marinette followed his line of sight and she stiffened as her eyes fell upon a face she had recently started to see quite often, seeing as Kagami had just started going to Françoise DuPont High School. 

And then she looked back to him, realizing that  _Kagami_  was now the girl who was the sole recipient of Chat’s affectionate looks. She was now the girl whom Chat’s heart was reserved for. The girl whom Marinette had been secretly hoping didn’t exist.

The full realization of being replaced hit Marinette in the chest like a ton of bricks. She hated the way her stomach dropped and clenched at the same time. She hated how hard her heart was pounding in her chest. And the thing she hated the most were the tears that had begun to run down her face, betraying all the times she’d told herself “I don’t feel that way about him.” 

She was in love with him, absolutely and completely. But that didn’t matter, she thought as she transformed and swung toward the Eiffel Tower, because it was obviously too late. She wondered if Kagami could ever  _possibly_  love Chat the way he deserved, which was with  _every fiber of her being._

_I could_ , she thought, stopping in her tracks.

And then before she could stop herself, she was imagining what it would be like to be with Chat. 

As she sprinted across the rooftops of Paris, she imagined brushing his fluffy blonde hair out of his eyes so she could get a better look at them. As she swung from building to building, she imagined stroking his face, committing to memory the angles and softness of his cheeks and skin. And then, as she landed on the top of the Eiffel Tower, she opened a door in her imagination that she’d previously kept under lock and key.

She wondered what those bright green, cat-like eyes would look like without the mask. How his face would look framed by his wild hair that she loved so much. She wondered if he had any freckles that dusted his shoulders or arms. She wondered what his sense of style was-did he fit his ‘black cat’ persona, or did he dress completely opposite of the superhero façade? What were his friends like? Did they appreciate his sense of humor? What was his best friend’s name? Did whomever it was make sure to get Chat out of his awful home as much as possible? What were his passions? Had they ever seen each other in person and not realized it? 

Her heart suddenly clenched so hard that she couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t imagine herself  _not_ immediately recognizing him. Then she wondered: All those times that Chat had met Marinette, did he ever suspect her as Ladybug?

And then she pictured the two of them meeting together, without the masks and the magic. His was face finally clear and sharp, and he was looking at her as he always had, but this time he was not only seeing her as Ladybug, with her sheer bravery and confidence, but also as who she was behind the mask. As Marinette, with all her humor and feistiness; with all her clumsiness and faults. All the things Chat didn’t always get to see when they were masked. And she dreamt of how it would feel to know that he adored  _every_  part of her. 

She closed her eyes as she imagined his bare hands softly caressing her cheekbones. She imagined him brushing back her hair and cupping her face in his palms, fingers lightly touching her jawline. And before she could stop herself, she imagined what it would be like for him to kiss her. 

She wondered if he would ever dream about her again.

Ladybug wasn’t sure when she’d begun crying again, and she didn’t know when she’d be able to stop. Certainly not tonight, and even when she did eventually run out of tears, she knew she would not be all right for a very long time.


End file.
